The Farmer's Ball
by writebynight
Summary: Title subject to change. When Katie gets an urgent letter from her father, she has to make a desicion. K-plus right now but subject to change in later chapters. Staggering POV.
1. Letter

Chapter 1: Letter

I woke on my first morning back at camp with renewed happiness. I couldn't wait to plant some petunias in the garden outside my cabin, and catch up with my friends from camp. That is, until I received a message from my dad at the Big House. Still in my rosy pink pajama shorts and white camisole, hair unbrushed, I went to get washed up, but my younger sister, Lucy, who was six, ran into the cabin breathing heavily. "KatieKatieKatie!" she shrieked, and clung to my leg. Laughing and rubbing my eye, I pulled the energetic girl off my leg and squatted down to give her a hug. With her innocently cheery personality and the freckles to match, Lucy had always been one of my favorite little campers. "Chiron says that you gotta go see him 'cause your daddy sent you something!" "Okay, I'll go see what it is as soon as I'm ready." I tried to keep calm for the young girl's sake, but secretly I was worry-ridden: why would my father need to send me something only one day after I left? This must be important.

"Nuh uh. You need to come now. The message that your dad sent said that it was urgent. That means important." Lucy nodded proudly and matter-of-factly. Oh, crap. Urgent? Please, tell me he's not hurt, I prayed to myself as I thanked Lucy absentmindedly and ran off towards the Big House.


	2. Heartbreak

Chapter 2: Heartbreak?

"I'm sorry, Travis, but it's over." Bethenny looked at me square in the face, not seeming very sorry at all. With a flip of her shiny white-blond hair, the Aphrodite girl turned on her heel and strutted back to her cabin across the way. Staring blankly ahead, I walked back through the cabin entrance and sat down on my bunk below Connor, who was snoring loudly, and held my head in my hands. Where was the depression? Why wasn't I heartbroken that the knockout daughter of Aphrodite broke up with me? "Gods..."

"What'cha do this time?" Connor, apparently awake, swung his legs over the edge of the bunk and hopped down.

"Bethenny and I broke up."

"Aw, tough break, bro. I'm here for you." Connor had a look of sincere pity and- was that empathy?- on his written across his face, so it must be serious.

"No, that's the thing. I'm not upset. Hell, why am I not heartbroken?" I swore, slamming his fists against the cabin and then leaning up against the wall. Connor, giving me a look, asked who I was and what I'd done with Travis.

"No, really. Come on and help me, ya ladies man!"

Connor sighed and sat down. "Alright, so I'd say you probably like another girl. Who is she?" He smirked and flashed a devilish grin.

"Hades if I know."

"Well, walk it off, man. Let's get some food." Grunting in agreement, the two brothers left the cabin, one with his signature swagger, the other trudging.


	3. Urgency

Chapter 3: Urgency

My bare feet pounded against the path as I sprinted towards the Big House's porch, where Mr. D was playing pinochle with Grover.  
>"Ah. Kassie. Yes, I suppose you'll be wanting to see Chiron now, hm? He's right inside."<br>"Thank you, Mr. D." I gave the god a stiff nod and raised an eyebrow at Grover, who was munching on a Coke can anxiously.  
>He didn't seem to notice, so I rushed inside the doors to find Chiron in his office, a crisp white letter in his hands. He regarded me solemnly.<br>"Katie. Your father has sent you this."  
>He passed me the letter, which was addressed in my dad's hasty scribble and had URGENT stamped on the front in bright red block letters. I tensed.<br>"I thought it would be fitting for you to read it first."  
>I carefully tore the top of the envelope, and then hungrily snatched at the folded piece of paper inside. Reading aloud, I began:<br>"Katie-Kat,  
>Hope camp is going well. How are your friends? I send this asking you a favor. Please come out to our farm in Pennsylvania next Thursday to attend a ball the town is throwing. Dr. Harrison told me my daughter would be "so rude as to not take an escort," so please bring a friend. Thank you,<br>Dad."  
>I looked up at Chiron, utterly shocked. His expression, however, was one of amusement.<br>"Very well, Katie. I will arrange for Argus to drive you and a guest to your hometown in Pennsylvania." His eyes twinkled. "You may go."  
>I nodded and left the Big House, my mind racing. This was ridiculous! An urgent letter about a stupid dance? Give me a break! I fumed, although I knew I would be obliged to attend. I mean, my dad is a farmer, but seriously, what was my mother thinking? He did this type of thing all the time. Also, Thursday was in four days, I noted. Four freaking days to find a date to the dance. Ridiculous.<br>By this point, it was time for breakfast, and I was starved. I hurried off to the dining pavilion, troubled by my thoughts of who to take, what to wear, and what would happen when I saw Dad for the first time in three years.


	4. Bacon

Chapter 4: Bacon

I was just about to sacrifice some of his bagel when I saw a figure dash into the pavilion. What? Was that... no, it couldn't be, I concluded as I scraped a decent portion of his bagel into the brazier. Going back to the Hermes table, however, I saw that the mysterious person was in fact who I originally suspected. Katie Gardner. Wearing only a slim tank top thingy and some shorts. No shoes on, hair wild and untamed, she tossed a juicy piece of bacon into another brazier at the opposite end of the pavilion. More fire pits had been added now that there were so many more campers here. My heart skipped a beat when he saw her, but I blamed it on post-breakup depression (of which he had none, the back of my consciousness added.)  
>With a grin, I snatched a piece of bacon off the brunette's plate and bit into it triumphantly.<br>"Hey!" Fiery green eyes locked onto mischievous brown, filled with anger.  
>"That was mine!" Katie set her plate down on the Demeter table and crossed her arms.<br>"I wanted bacon. You had bacon." I smiled wider. This was all too easy.  
>"So? You could've gotten your own, but no. You had to take mine!"<br>"Why don't you have shoes on?"  
>She huffed. "Don't try to confuse me-" After looking down, Katie flushed but showed no other signs of emotion besides rage.<br>"I am wearing no shoes," she said, steely-voiced, "Because of none of your business." And with that, the daughter of Demeter sat at her table angrily.  
>I smirked and wheeled back towards the Hermes table, but wondered why she let him go without a fight. Usually we did this every day, I steal her food (Hey, son of the god of thieves), she gets mad, we fight, I win, mostly. But today? No fight. Just anger. I knew I should be glad, but a little part of me enjoyed the excuse to spend part of the day with Katie. This part, of course, was dismissed as well by the fact that Katie had a secret from me. And I did not like it when certain daughters of Demeter might possibly have something over me. Which she did. A secret. And with this, I decided that I must know that secret.<p> 


	5. Images

Chapter 5: Images

I sat down at my table with a satisfying thump. "That'll show him," I said to my cabin mates, but I was really only thinking about that dance Dad wanted me to go to. Who would I ask? Two images appeared in my mind. On the left, a boy with sandy hair and deep blue eyes appeared. The face was flawless, without a trace of acne and totally freckle-free. He had dazzling white teeth and a stunning smile. He had a perfectly toned, tan body. Tyler, from Apollo. On the right, another person appeared. He had perfectly tousled wavy-curly light brown hair, the color not unlike her own. His face wasn't perfect, at the moment there was a small zit on his chin and his skin was slightly freckled. He had sparkling brown eyes that were gleaming with mischief. He had a sort of half-smile but smiled with his whole face, and he did often. He was pretty well-muscled, too, but not as much as the other boy. Travis Stoll. Wait. Travis Stoll? As in, Travis freaking Stoll?  
>I choked on my milk and spit it out, sending it flying across the table at Miranda and Sophia, getting my already-drunk milk all over their camp tee shirts. Oops.<p> 


	6. Flirt

After I saw Katie spew milk- ew, milk, healthy- all over her siblings, I knew that the secret was even more important to find out. So, after breakfast was over, I sauntered over to her and greeted her with my sexiest smile. See, us Stolls know that there are three ways to find out secrets: one, outright ask- never going to work. A crap idea. Second, blackmail it out of them- but Katie's not afraid of us, and furthermore, what was I going to threaten? To tell camp that she wet her pants on me when she was six? No, that's just idiotic. And third- flirt with/befriend them until they tell you. Bingo! Anyway, I walked up to Katie with a sexy smile. I was pretty sure that I looked hot.

"Hey Katie," I gently edged in next to her as she strode out of the pavilion. I noticed stares, but ignored them. I was also very aware of the fact that our arms were touching, and my stomach fluttered.

"Did I ever tell you that you look really pretty with your hair down?" I murmured, swirling a strand around my finger. She flushed a deep red, but shoved me away.

"What do you want, Stoll?"

Damn.

"Uhm, I... nothing. I just thought I should tell you."

Katie crossed her arms. She was the color of a tomato.

"Likely."

"No, really!" I flashed my sexy smile again.

"Why are you smiling like you just ate a raw lemon? It's quite unattractive."

"Um... bye!"

As I sprinted away, I was thinking two things. Mainly I was wondering if my sexy smile really looked like I ate something sour. I would have to ask Connor later. And secondly, I was wondering why I said 'um' and 'uhm' and 'er' around Katie. I mean, I don't get nervous around Katie Gardner! I never cared what she had to say before, so... why now?


End file.
